The superhero genre continues to be wildly popular, with various cinematic universes competing at the box office. DC co-CEO James Gunn introduced a new DCU to audiences, with the first movie installment of Gods and Monsters being Superman. That movie featured David Corenswet in the title role, and he recently spoke to Wicked star Jonathan Bailey about the similarities between getting ripped for his role and training your voice for a role in a musical.
Bailey was recently named Sexiest Man Alive, and we saw a glimpse of his massive biceps in Wicked: For Good. While participating in Variety's Actors on Actors, he and Corenswet bonded over having the same trainer. As Bailey put it:
Being in a film like this, you get these extraordinary experts who are there to gift you technique and time. We’ve actually trained with the same physical trainer, Paolo.
David Corenswet gained at ton of weight for Superman (which is streaming now with a HBO Max subscription). He definitely looks like he's go super strength, and he'll likely have to keep up this appearance for upcoming DC movies. As for the Bridgerton star, he's the internet's boyfriend and has countless fans thirsting over his physique.
Later in the same conversation, Bailey asked Corenswet about the physical transformation he made to play Clark Kent/Superman in the DCU. During the give and take they referenced Popeye, saying:
- Bailey: If you think about your — forgive me. I assume your body wasn’t — I mean, maybe you were born Superman?
- Corenswet: No, no, no. I was what one of my high school crushes very unaffectionately described as a string bean.
- Bailey: Some people are Popeye, and some people are Olive Oyl.
- Corenswet: And I was Olive Oyl. So yeah, I put on 40 pounds with Paolo.
40 pounds is a ton of weight to gain for Superman, so clearly the 32 year-old actor put in a ton of work. In addition to workouts with the aforementioned Paolo, Coresnswet had to consume a ton of calories in order to bulk up. Luckily that effort paid off, as he looked pretty incredible in his debut in the DCU.
Later in the same chat between the two heartthrobs, Jonathan Bailey related his prep to play Fiyero in Wicked to the physical work David Corenswet did ahead of Superman. He spoke to his fellow theater kid, saying:
That’s incredible. But also, the process there, if you apply that to vocal training, you get the same [result]. For me, it’s about confidence. Those eight days of doing 'Dancing Through Life' were some of the most extraordinary and toughest days I’ve had on a film set. Jon Chu had a baby, so we did one day without a director. You have to train that hard. There will be variables on the day. You might not sleep. You might have a cold. The director might have a baby. It’s so satisfying to really commit fully.
Life can get in the way of filmmaking, and that's exactly what happened when it was time for Bailey and the company of Wicked to record "Dancing Through Life" for the first movie (which is streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription). Specifically, director Jon M. Chu having to step away for a bit thanks to having a baby. But just like Corenswet trained his body, the Fellow Travelers actor worked on his voice to make sure it was able to handle days of singing on set.
Superman is streaming now on HBO Max and Wicked: For Good is still in theaters as part of the 2025 movie release list. Given both of Bailey and Corenswet's recent success, it feels like the sky's the limit in regards to their respective careers.
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